The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, on Monday dismissed claims that the administration of President Bola Tinubu borrowed an additional ₦80 trillion after inheriting a public debt of about ₦75 trillion, attributing the sharp rise in the country’s debt profile to the revaluation of foreign loans and the securitisation of existing obligations.
Appearing before the Senate Committee on Finance chaired by Senator Sani Musa in Abuja, Oyedele said a significant portion of the increase in Nigeria’s debt stock was not the result of fresh borrowing but of accounting adjustments triggered by the depreciation of the naira and the formal recognition of liabilities accumulated under the previous administration.
“When this administration came into office, public debt was around ₦75 trillion. Many people simply compare that figure with today’s debt stock and conclude that this government has borrowed massively,” he said.
“However, it is important to note that, following the reforms and the depreciation of the naira, the foreign currency component of our public debt had to be revalued because Nigeria reports its debt in naira.
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That accounting adjustment alone added more than ₦40 trillion to the public debt figure.”
Oyedele explained that the securitisation of Ways and Means advances approved by the National Assembly also added about ₦33 trillion to the public debt stock without amounting to new borrowing.
“Another important factor is the securitisation of the Ways and Means advances from the previous administration, which the National Assembly approved. About ₦33 trillion was added to the public debt through that process.
It was not new borrowing; it was simply bringing previously existing obligations onto the official debt books,” he added.
The minister stressed that much of the government’s domestic borrowing was aimed at refinancing maturing obligations rather than accumulating fresh debt.
